Some of the factors that would contribute to the success of a romantic getaway is the serene atmosphere and beautiful surroundings of the chosen destination. Indeed, with these qualities, any couple is likely to spend quality time together, indulge in various activities, enjoy the beautiful scenery and be in a position to unwind. For this reason, many couples prefer to travel to locations that are less visited, where they are more likely to have a memorable time. In addition, beautiful locations are bound to offer great backgrounds for couples that are interested in taking photographs.

Myanmar is one of the best countries to consider when planning a honeymoon or any other romantic getaway. The country is awash with numerous romantic cities and locations that promise to offer couples a great time.

Yangon

Although different couples celebrate love in different ways, there is no doubt that visiting places together would make for an exciting time. In this regard, Yangon has a number of popular and beautiful attractions that couples can visit, like Shwedagon Pagoda and Kandawgyi Lake with the Karaweik Palace. Also, a walk through downtown will show a view of the beautiful architectural design of the buildings and religious sights. Similarly, couples can choose to visit the Bogyoke market from where they can buy antiques, souvenirs, gems and Burmese jade.

Ngapali

Many people have described Ngapali beach as an unspoiled beach. Indeed, the beach which stretches over three kilometres has great white sands, brilliant waters as well as coconut palms, factors that have made it one of the best romantic destinations in the country. It’s a perfect place to finish your romantic trip and couples can relax but at the same time enjoy fun activities like swimming, sailing, walking along the shore and enjoying the delicious sea foods that are served near the beach.

Putao

The charming town of Putao is located on the banks of Namlaung River. More to this, the town is surrounded by a number of snow-capped mountains, making it one of the most beautiful locations in the country. Although this town is cold for most part of the year, it offers adventurous tourists a chance to take part in trekking expeditions. Lastly, the fact that it is located in the most remote northern part of Kachin State adds spice to what any couple would have as their dream romantic getaway.

Bagan

There are many reasons why Bagan can be ranked among the most romantic destinations in Myanmar and in the world. Bagan was at some point the centre of one of the most famous ancient kingdoms of Myanmar and for this reason the town has a rich history and over 2,000 pagodas. Bagan is also renowned for its beautiful sunset views, relaxing Irrawaddy river cruises as well as being home to the vibrant lacquerware industry in Myanmar.

Inle Lake

The spectacular view of the surrounding waters of the lake, one leg paddling fishermen, the floating gardens, ever fertile valleys and the forested mountaintops are some of the special features that define this romantic destination. Spending a day on a boat trip around Inle lake is a must do in Myanmar and an experience you will never forget.

Article in collaboration with the author Nicola Williams, from the UK. She is a professional content writer and a blogger. Most of her articles include her travel experiences. Her hobbies are travelling, trekking and cooking. Currently she is working on a project Australian visas which helps in visa assistance.

Beautiful guestpost by my good friend Claire Ham:

When I was heading to Inle Lake, a popular tourist city in the southern Shan State, visiting vineyard and local orphanage was not really on my mind. Not that I didn’t care for it. I simply had no knowledge of it. Upon arriving at the local Heho airport, I was met with enthusiastic promotion of Red Mountain Estate vineyards and wineries. I was rather surprised to see the flyer with beautiful landscape images. I just put that away in my purse without giving too much thought.

After one hour of ride, I made it to backpacker area called Nyaung Shwe. Since I arrived in the late afternoon, it was already too late to join a full day boat tour around the lake. Out of curiosity for that mysterious flyer, and a bit of travel fatigue, my travel companion and I decided to check out the vineyard and enjoy a lazy afternoon over a glass of wine. The friendly staff at the hotel recommended us to go there around sunset. We took his advice, and hired a car to make it in time for the famous sunset.

About half-way to the Red Mountain Estate, I spotted a sign that says “Brother Felice Orphanage.” Orphanage in a tourist city? Who would have guessed that? Since I like to hang out with local children when I travel, I thought about going there first, yet, we didn’t have a lot of time before the sun went down. So, I put off that idea.

The vineyard had quite an impressive landscape, which reminded me of wine country I visited back in California. Surprisingly, its selection of wine and food were amazing! I was told that 400,000 plants was imported from France and Spain, and after some experiment process, variety of wines were produced. I guess the cool climate, and its soils were just right for wine-making! If you happen to be a jaded wine lover, no worries! The spectacular sunset will fool your sensitive palate.

After a pleasant wine tasting and dinner, it was rather late to drop by this orphanage.

For the next few days, we were busy exploring this wonderful town that offers so much to see. We hired a boatman for the day and went around the area to check out the famous fishermen feet paddling, floating garden, long-neck women, various silver-smith & knitting workshops, a few monasteries, and all that jazz! I thought about visiting a hot spring, too, but it didn’t sound attractive for February’s hot weather.

On our last day in Inle Lake, I wanted to take it easy. While I was looking for post cards to write, I remembered my initial plan to visit the orphanage. I walked into a travel agency nearby and asked for a taxi to take me. Soon after, the Burmese version of tuk tuk driver showed up. His limited English didn’t concern me much. He already knew where I wanted to go, so, I jumped into the back of his modest vehicle and let him find his way. When we finally arrived there, I realized that I was empty-handed. Oh no! I asked him to take me to a candy shop. It was not so easy to explain the concept of candy to the driver and actually find it. Believe it or not, sweets like candies and chocolates were not that common in that small neighbourhood, which was a bit distant from tourist area.

When I came back, the children were about to have dinner by themselves. I asked for their teacher whom I could talk to, but, nobody. Still, one of older kids kindly invited me to dinner and made me a nice cup of tea. All of the children were sitting around the big dining table and eating their simple and modest meal, which was comprised of rice, a few veggies, and a bowl of soup. They seemed to be pleased with unexpected desserts that I brought along.

Not long after, their director, Ms. Ma Mi Nge came back. She greeted me with a big smile and shared some basic information about the place. It was founded by Catholic priest, Felice from which the name came. That explained the mystery of the name of the orphanage: Brother Felice Orphanage. Don’t forget that Myanmar is a heavily Buddhist country. The director assured me of the religious freedom of children, which made me smile.

I asked her how the place was financed, and if I could help her in any way. Her answer was quite surprising. The only secured help is some bags of rice from Germany every month. No official help from their own government. After some thought, I suggested to her that maybe I could make a Facebook page for the organization to better find a necessary sponsorship. Then, I realized that I’d need some photos. I didn’t bring a camera there to be discreet. Not everyone likes to show how they live to random tourists, right? Ms. Ma Mi Nge offered me her camera and let me walk around with it to take photos of their facility.

When I was done taking photos, she introduced me to her cute children. We talked for some time with her translation help. They seemed a bit shy, yet, remained quite friendly. I spotted several English books in their small library, but, they were not helpful enough for us to communicate well, obviously. Before I said good-bye to them, I took several group photos for Facebook page. They still had lovely smiles in front of a complete stranger. Then, so long. I couldn’t stay more, unfortunately, as my driver had to head back home.

It was indeed a brief encounter. I felt sad that I didn’t have time to go back to play with them. It would have been wonderful. We had a couple of outbound flights scheduled the next day and the following day and couldn’t afford to buy a new ticket.

It took a while for the director to get back to me with those pictures. Pictures with smiling children. I don’t even know their names. But I think of them often, and wonder how I can help them out to make sure they won’t lose their bright smiles. No matter how genuine I felt about the director’s caring hearts for her kids, they don’t even have a bank account. How many people would make time out of their busy life schedule to go to Western Union to send money to those kids whom they have never met before, unlike myself who grew up in an orphanage in South Korea and understands the fact that the kindness of random strangers can change one’s life.

But if you do have a plan to visit this beautiful Inle Lake, make sure to drop by and say hello to these adorable children. It will be a very special present for YOU. Something that Lonely Planet guide can never tell you. A slice of real life and real people. True essence of Myanmar lies in the smiles of kind-hearted souls in spite of harsh reality they have to face.

About Claire Ham: She was born and raised in South Korea, and has travelled to Asia, North & South America, and Europe extensively while working for The Hollywood Reporter and various film festivals before. Now she is a life coach based in Germany.

The artisans of this family-run workshop are making the famous Shan paper. The workshop is situated in Pindaya, a town situated in Shan State near the Inle Lake.

Stemming from the fiber of the mulberry tree, very wide-spread shrub in the mountains of the region, this paper is very well-known in Myanmar.

The manufacturing process is rather long. During a day, the fibers of mulberry tree are dipped into the water then get plastered in the wood fire during more than 5 hours with a mixture of wood ash or clay.

The paper dough, displayed on top of a trunk wood piece, is then beaten with a wooden mallet during several minutes. Later, a bamboo frame covered with a very fine cotton fabric (beforehand coated with oil) is settled at the bottom of a tank filled with water. With a stick or with hands, the pulp of paper is diluted in the water and then distributed in a equal way on the canvas.

After having removed air bubbles and lumps of paper, the frame is pulled out from the water tank, while the pulp of paper stays on the cotton canvas. The frame and the pulp of paper will dry for hours in the sun and finally the pulp will be transformed into a paper sheet. Delicately, the sheet will be removed from the bamboo frame.

For the manufacturing of notepads, fans, lampshade or simple paper sheets, petals of flowers or small leaves are added on the pulp of paper before drying.

In this workshop, everything is made by hand, including the famous Burmese parasols. They are completely made by hand, from the bamboo handle and the pawl, which allows the parasol to stay opened, to the umbrella frame on which the paper sheets will be stuck.

Guest post from Marina, author of Stories of Inspiration.

Marina is a travel & photo addict. Her journeys led her mainly to Asia and Oceania, two regions of the world which she particular likes: Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Australia, Japan…

Myanmar is the country in her heart. Fascinating, charming and exceptional. Marina lived sixteen months in Yangon and those months marked her life. It is by walking on the streets of Rangoon and by travelling inside the country that the photo slowly imposed as being the best way to share those charming faces, those breath-taking landscapes and those scenes of everyday life of another time.

Her desire through Stories of Inspiration is to share with you her pics, tips and especially, tempt you to travel!

Guest post by Anthony Mahé.

Now, it’s name is Myanmar but it is still well known as Burma. It has drawn my attention and woken up my curiosity for a long time. This country even became a long-awaited destination for me. When travellers often disagree talking about the countries they visit, Burma seems to leave only wonderment for travellers who have been there. So why so much interest for this country now? To understand, we have to focus on the political story of Burma. This old British colony has just opened the borders in 2010. Finally, a new change is going on in a country. I first realized it when I came to Yangon. Surrounded by old buildings from the British colony period, many new constructions are happening and in the streets, the sidewalk are full of packages containing TV screens and household appliances while teenagers walk holding smartphones.

The most surprising for me was the kindness of the Burmese. They look at me and when I turn back they give me a shy smile. They are not used to see many foreigners yet and they are very curious, like a man in Shwedagon Pagoda who came to me just to speak and say he was thankful I came to visit his country! And it is in the countryside where I met Burmese even more curious about foreigners. I remember this moment in a cigar factory of Bago town when I was trying to speak Burmese with the few words I know… it just caused a moment of crazy laughter. Nobody could stop laughing!

Thanks to these moments, I decided to keep exploring the countryside. Trekking from Kalaw to the famous Inle Lake, I crossed many colourful fields where Burmese grow different veggies. They still work with old and traditional tools and it feels to travel back in time. In the villages, life conditions are tough but the smile doesn’t leave their face. Everything seems to be so simple for them.

Life on Inle Lake was supposed to be as peaceful as here in the countryside but sadly, mass tourism changes a lot of things. Some fishermen are now taking group of tourists around the lake. Hotel and luxury resorts appear everywhere. I imagine local life has changed radically with that. I hope Burmese will know how to preserve this place before it becomes crowded. Under development, Burma still has many challenges to undertake.

As many countries in Asia, Burma has a lot of ethnic minorities. Meet them is often not easy, especially because the access to some areas is forbidden or require a special permit. However, the town of Hsipaw, allows people to trek in Shan Estate where Shan and Padaung minorities live. With a local guide, I walked to the mountains where people speak Shan or Padaung dialects. In this case, my guide was very helpful to get in touch with locals. They are not used to see a lot of tourists neither.

When you travel in Burma, you also have to experience local transport. Buses are not too bad but it’s another story when you talk about trains or boats. The good thing is you can travel closer to locals. Being in 3rd class of a wooden train and shaking like a leaf or on a slow boat supplying the small villages along the Irrawaddy River before arriving to the famous valley of Bagan, are memories I won’t forget.

More than 3,000 temples and stupas are still there in Bagan. Most of them are left abandoned giving you the feeling of an explorer being the first one to come in. But to really enjoy Bagan, you have to wake up early to see the sun rising over all the temples with balloons in the background.

A magic moment of my trip in Burma with a last meeting: I remember I was a bit lost next to a stupa in Sagaing, looking for my way, when I ended up in a monastery where I met some monks. Five minutes later, I was sitting around a table with them and locals enjoying some yummy local food! An unexpected moment that definitely made me love Burma. Usually, I don’t like to compare the different countries where I have been and choose my favourites, but if I had to do a list, Burma would be in good position for sure…

- Anthony Mahé: Having always been passionate by travel, Anthony started to experience it a few years ago in Europe and Argentina where he felt in love with Patagonia. Since these experiences, his others travels took him from Asia to South America through Oceania. For Anthony, travelling is about being connected with nature and meeting people. Check out his blog One World to See

Watch Anthony’s amazing video of Myanmar. Beautiful images and great music that will make you want to come and visit Myanmar!

Anthony Mahé – Vimeo.

“Smiles and kindness of Burmese are memories I will never forget. One of the most incredible country I’ve been so far”

Thingyan is the Burmese New Year Festival. It is held in the Burmese month of Tagu, which is calculated according to the Burmese lunisolar calendar and it is usually in April.

This is the most important public holiday in Myanmar and it lasts about 10 days. The actual water throwing only last the first 4 days and it is impossible to go anywhere in the city without ending up completely wet.

The reason of throwing water is to wash away the previous year’s bad luck and sins.

It is a very traditional festival and locals travel during these days to spend time with family, visit Pagodas and play traditional games.

In Yangon, the water festival has turned into more modern than traditional, with temporally built stages all over the city with loud music and water hose doing their job.

The main stage is outside the City Hall, just between Sule Pagoda and Immanuel Church, where besides just playing water festival traditional songs, there are concerts from popular singers. Locals from all ages dance and love it.

You’ll find that not even in a quiet street you are safe, suddenly a child will appear with a plastic water gun and wet you :)

The water festival in Myanmar is very similar to Songkran in Thailand and it’s great fun. In Yangon, friends walk or drive an open air 4×4 car or truck along the stages. It’s great fun to walk around the city and be part of it.

The main stages are mostly around Kandawgyi lake where there is easy access and plenty of water… ;)

Inside these stages, it is like being in a club but with showers hanging from the ceiling.

And of course, it’s a great time to make friends and meet a lot of locals! :)

Guest post by Marco Großmann:

It is an early chilly morning when my boat departs on Inle Lake. Carefully my boat driver hovers our wooden vessel through the misty twilight. “Very peaceful” he suggests and points with his weathered hand to the horizon, where a lush green lakeside gradually emerges from the mist. “Yes…” I reply with a lowered and awestruck voice “…peaceful and beautiful…like an ancient, hidden land”.

It is this appeal of the unknown that made me want to go explore Myanmar. Isolated from the rest of the world due to the political system, Myanmar was almost off limits to foreigners for a long time. The lack of exposure to foreign influences and globalisation have preserved Myanmar like a time capsule.

When I get off the boat, the first sun rays already pierce through the sky and trees, illuminating some overgrown temple ruins along my path. I stop for a couple of minutes to admire its scale and to observe a few men who are busy clearing the dense cover mother nature created over time. Suddenly my presence is noticed by one of the men, who raises his straw hat and looks at me. “…Min-ga-la-ba…” I say in an attempt to greet in local language. He replies with a gentle smile and waves his machete towards what looks like an entrance. Drawn by curiosity I stumble inside into the darkness. When my eyes finally adjust I discover one of the most remarkable Buddha statues I’ve ever seen. It’s not as golden and decorated as other magnificent Buddha in Myanmar but the light, place and the people I’ve just met turn the rather modest physical look of the Buddha into a magical experience.

Although I have planned to see all the “major” sights around Inle Lake I decide to spend the entire day at this lovely little temple area. While I explore every corner of the surroundings I have the place almost entirely to myself. Only now and then some local people or a foreign tourist passes by. I eat some Shan noodle soup served by a friendly lady and “chat” to some novice monks dressed in vivid red robes who had first curiously observed me from afar. Everybody seems to be at ease, gestures are gentle and people feel incredibly hospitable, honest and warm.

It’s a perfect place for photography. Nevertheless I wait first, before I click. I look around, I chat, I leave, I return and I chat again and eventually I will click a few images. Besides respect and politeness, it is always better to first get to know the people I take photos of. The resulting images will look far from being posed but intimate because they get back to their normal routines as they know and trust me. But to build up trust takes time, just like in every relationship.

It was my first visit to Myanmar back in 2009, but that day I discovered to appreciate the real beauty of Myanmar. It is not within the major, obviously stunning attractions like Bagan or the Yangon Golden Temple (Shwedagon Pagoda), but in the minor sights and sites nearby where the authentic charm of Myanmar is still alive. Here it becomes evident in all the small things that happen or do not happen.

But as Myanmar is in the transition of becoming a modern Asian country everything is slowly being transformed. It is merely a matter of time until its authentic appearance will give way to the boring and dull global uniform look. And most of Myanmar’s minor charming sites and details will vanish, just like vivid colours of a t-shirt fade with every wash. The subtle ones will be gone first.

So whenever you decide to visit to Myanmar, make sure you dig deeper and search for your own hidden gem off the beaten track. There are plenty of unknown temples, Buddha statues and friendly places waiting to be explored. The rewards will be unique, but you better come soon.

Marco Großmann is an emerging documentary photographer from Germany.

You can follow his travel notes and photo stories via his facebook page and website.

Guest post by Amy Kerner:

When I travel around the world I always scour the internet to find authentic indigenous experiences. I’m a true animal lover and everyone who knows me knows this to be true! Once I discovered the Green Valley Elephant Camp (GVEC) online and read the reviews, I was sold! I could tell immediately that this opportunity would be special and quite different from the circus type elephant experience I took part in while staying in Chaing Mai, Thailand years prior.

Green Valley has a serious interest in rescuing Asian elephants from their tiresome life of working in the timber industry and providing them a peaceful environment where they can receive love, treatment for their medical conditions and lots of rest! A true retirement which they deserve!

My friend and I visited Myanmar in February of 2015 and had 11 days to explore. After 3 epic days in Bagan, we took a 40-minute Asian Wings flight from Bagan to Heho then arranged a ride from the airport to the camp situated near Kalaw. We enjoyed the lush, scenic 1 1/2 hour windy journey as we descended deep inside Myanmar’s highlands.

When we arrived we were greeted by a gaggle of honking geese as well as an employee of the camp, a lovely Burmese man. We were led to the lodge where the office and kitchen are housed, which is situated high above the elephant camp in the middle of a peaceful forest. Our guide gave us a description of the camps mission before we were taken to meet the 7 elephants and their Mahouts (caregivers) who now call the Green Valley Elephant Camp their forever home.

5 female and 2 male rough and wrinkled elephants currently live at GVEC and will grow old there. One of these elephants is a 5 year old baby who has been orphaned. He was adorable and wasn’t shy about reaching for as much food as he could get his trunk on! He’s known there for being greedy and spoiled. As we were introduced to the elephants we were told about each ones personal story. Most had medical condition such as issues with their eyes or feet which were neglected for years! We truly enjoyed petting and feeding each one handfuls of squash and bamboo stalks as we formed a bond with these marvelous creatures.

I felt very safe amongst them right from the start even though our size difference was indeed a large one! The elephant that I favored had a unique behavioral difference from the others (which is not surprising of me since I’ve worked with special needs children for 17 years). This elephant would not take food with it’s trunk like the others elephants and kept backing away.  Initially, I thought he was shy and just needed to spend more time warming up to us. We were then instructed to place the food directly into it’s huge mouth bypassing his trunk entirely. We had been informed to look closely at it’s trunk. Immediately, I observed a large scar in the middle of his truck, revealing the multiple beatings this elephant must have endured! Due to this repeated abuse he now fears anyone coming close to his trunk.

When we were finished spoiling our new friends, it was time for us to become real animal caregivers, referred to locally as “mahout”. We were given special loose pants to change into, which kind if made me look like I was wearing diaper. Two elephants (1 elephant per 2 people) were lead down to the water and we followed behind them along the path. We watched the head mahout speak to “our” elephant as he told him to lower himself into the river. It was finally time to get into the river and try out being a Mahout ourselves. We took our time scrubbing him with a cloth and soap and discovered quickly, Asian elephants are super hairy. He didn’t make a peep and appeared to enjoy bath time very much! It was a crazy experience knowing that this large animal could take me down in a second but having complete trust that he wouldn’t.

When we finished our bathing duties we hoped on his back along with its mahout and took a short ride bareback through the river then onto land to deliver the elephants back to where they spend their time. Each step the elephant took we felt every muscle move under us.

We changed out of our wet mahout pants and sat down with 2 other travelers to learn more and share our experience. We learned a great deal such as; only 40% of Asian males have tusks, they average 4-5 tons, have 5 front toe nails, they have big heads and small ears, a good sense of smell, hearing and great night vision. Only Asian elephants can be trained and domesticated unlike African ones. There remain 4500 thousand elephants in all of Asia with 10,000 in Myanmar.  Don’t think I ever learned any of that in any high school or college classes!

Finally it was time for us to get fed. We walked back to the lodge by crossing the river and then back up a steep hill. We sat in a gorgeous gazebo overlooking the dense forest while enjoying an Indian lunch. After lunch we were allowed to relax in the sun or go back down to spend more time feeding the elephants or explore the terrain. I decided to stay behind and reflect on this amazing day while my friend headed back down to say goodbye to all the elephants. I was super psyched we opted to visit Green Valley Elephant Camp and witness first hand a project like this taking place  in Myanmar. I hope GVEC provides a good example to stop elephant abuse in Asia and around the world.

If you plan on visiting Kalaw or near by Inle Lake I highly suggest spending a day at Green Valley!  This is a perfect day for nature lovers, animal lovers and for those seeking charitable projects happening around the world. Their mission is important and the memories we made are priceless!

My name is Amy Kerner and I’m a native NY’er. My life motto is: “Have passport, will travel”.  I set a personal goal of traveling to two countries per year and have been doing so since 2006. I work as a Speech Language Pathologist for children with disabilities in the Bronx. My job allows me to help children and families. In my spare time I also enjoy biking, the beach, cooking and helping people with travel advice. Not a week goes by that someone doesn’t reach out to me about a travel destination! I still have much of the world to see but I’m thrilled that I’ve had the opportunity to see more than 30 countries so far! If you want to follow Amy’s travels, check out her Instagram.

Guest post by my good friend Alejandro Ollero, first one of my childhood friends to grab his backpack and come to visit me :)

For those of you who are always looking forward to feel the most authentic experience in the places you visit, trekking could be one of the best activities. Walking across vast fields, forests and small villages fills your senses with all kind of emotions. From the moment you start walking to the last step, the experience is unforgettable… and tough, of course… but at the end it’s always worth it.

Located in the Shan State of Myanmar, the trip starts in Kalaw, a lively and busy town with a pleasant temperature thanks to its altitude (1,320 m above the sea level). In Kalaw you will find many agencies offering trekking activities. Sam’s Family has a good reputation. Sam is a former guide with more tan 30 years of experience and he also runs a restaurant with his family. You can see the passion in his eyes while he explains the planing of the treks in a home-made map hanged in one of the walls inside the restaurant.

There are 2 possibilities for the Kalaw – Inle Lake trekking: the shorter (1 night, 2 days) and the longer (2 nights, 3 days). Normally the guides speak good English and are native from the area. They know very well all the surrounding countryside.

During the trip, you will see the rural Myanmar. Men and women working in the plantations, its inhabited villages during the working hours and cows lying in the shadow of a tree or having a fresh bath in a river. Colourful fields of vegetables, spices and fruits wake up your senses. You will see garlic, tea, ginger, chilli, potatoes and much more!

Spending the night in one of the local teak and bamboo cottage of a hosting family is an unique experience. You will have the opportunity to chat, cook and have breakfast with them. Habits like sleeping in the floor could not be very comfortable, but believe me, your body will have forgotten about it as you wake up with the sunrise, noises coming from a Myanmar traditional farm, and the smell of its burning fields. Before leaving the village, a cold and quick shower and the home made breakfast will give you more than enough energy to recharge your batteries.

Summarizing, you will experience the life of a local family.

As the group approach to Inle Lake, you can feel something special is closer. Locals and tourists mix in the roads and restaurants along the way. The end of the trek, at a river connected to the west shore of the lake, is refreshing after many hours under the sun in a dry atmosphere (if you travel on the hot season). The lake is another more than 3 days  worthy trek, but this is another adventure for next time!

Myanmar is not only the picture perfect location in the heart of Asia, it is the people who will make the real difference and touch your heart with their kindness and generosity. But it gets better, food is amazing and yet to be discovered.

If Asian food is one of the best in the world, imagine a country with its own delicious cuisine plus a strong influence of its neighbour countries’ cuisines from Laos, Thailand, China, Bangladesh and India.

These are the top 7 Burmese favourites:

Mohinga

Mohinga: This is Myanmar’s national dish. It is a fish noodle soup typically consumed for breakfast, although you can buy it from street stalls and teahouses at any time of the day.

Pork Hot Pot

Pork Hot Pot: This is the most popular street food amongst the locals. There are sticks around the hot pot with every cut of pork you can think of including its intestines, ear, tongue, and more, which they love dipping in a chilli sauce.

Tealeaf Salad

Tealeaf Salad: This salad is tasty and different to all the salads you could have ever tried. It’s a mixture of tealeaf, cabbage, onion, tomatoes, garlic, oil, salt, lime, and a mix of beans.

Shan Noodles

Shan Noodles: They can be prepared in a salad or a soup. The soup is made with sticky and flat rice noodles and the salad version uses thicker rice noodles. The sauce is made from tomato, salt, sugar, sugar cane sauce, cooked bean powder (Dah), oil-garlic-tumeric sauce, spring onions, and coreanda.

Tiger Prawn Curry

Tiger Prawn Curry: The curry sauce is delicious and pairs exceptionally with any fish or other seafood. This is a great dish usually found in coastal areas like Ngapali beach.

Barbecue

Barbecue: It is very popular and very social to go to barbecue stalls where you choose the different sticks you want and usually share a fish with your friends. 19th street in Yangon is perfect for this.

Falooda

Falooda: Saving the best for last, Falooda is definitely, a winner dessert in Myanmar. It’s cold, sweet, and beautiful! Yum!

If you love food and Myanmar as much as I do, check out my book Delicious Myanmar to discover this amazing country through its People and Food.

If Asian food is one of the best and most varied in the world, imagine a country with its own delicious cuisine plus a healthy dose of Asian ingredients and cooking styles. Burmese cuisine is also very healthy, favouring fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as fish products like fish sauce and fish paste and fermented seafood.

Shan State is one of the most popular States in Myanmar for tourists, not only because of its cuisine, but also because of the different attraction it offers. It is located in the Middle Eastern part of Myanmar, and its capital Taunggyi is famous for the Hot-air Balloon Festival.

It is also famous for the beautiful Inle Lake, where the floating gardens, the fishermen village and the unique way of one-leg paddling will fascinate you.

For adventurers, Hsipaw and Kalaw are two great cities to be in touch with nature and do trekking while Kakku Pagodas are the must see religious site.

Back to the food, here are 3 of the most popular and authentic Shan State dishes:

1- Shan Noodles

Shan noodles are one of the most popular dishes in Myanmar. You will find them in every teahouse and restaurant. You can have them either as a soup or as a salad, and in both cases the sauce is the same. The noodles are different. The ones used for the soup are sticky and flat rice noodles, whether the ones used for the salad are thick and round rice noodles.

To prepare the sauce, they blend tomatoes and then add salt, sugar, oil, sugar cane sauce and paprika. Then everything goes in a pot to boil.

The ingredients for the soup are: Boiling water, flat sticky rice noodle, tomato sauce, salt, sugar, sugar cane sauce, fermented soy bean powder, oil-garlic-turmeric sauce, spring onions and coriander.

The ingredients for the salad are: Thick rice noodle, tomato sauce, salt, sugar, sugar cane sauce, cooked bean powder (Dah), oil-garlic-turmeric sauce, spring onions and coriander.

2- Shan Yellow Rice Cake with Tomato Sauce

This is one of the dishes I tried on my first visit to Myanmar. It stuck with me and I definitely had to learn how to cook it. It’s so good!

For cooking the rice there is no trick, just wash it, add water, turmeric powder for the yellow colour, salt and a little bit of chicken powder.

There are two different tomato sauces, one to mix with the rice and another one to put on top of the rice cake.

For the first one, cut tomatoes in half, add salt and cook them in a pot until you have a sauce. Leave to cool. Remove the tomato skin. Then you stir the yellow rice to make it a little bit sticky and mix it with this tomato sauce. Before pouring all the tomato sauce, separate some in a bowl and add turmeric oil. Use this mix to wet your hands and season the rice cake while you shape it.

The second tomato sauce to add on top of the cake is the key. To prepare it, heat oil and add onions, garlic, fermented soya bean powder, dried chilli powder and turmeric powder. Then add grained tomatoes, salt and chicken powder. At this point you can also add coriander or spring onion and chicken or pork.

There is always another side sauce to add on top of the cake, turmeric and garlic sauce. Just heat oil, fry garlic and then add turmeric powder. I love this crunchy-garlic touch! And any cracker like pork skin, bean or rice goes perfectly with this dish.

3- Black Sesame Seed and Sticky Rice Cake (Khor Poat)

This is a very traditional snack in Shan State made with purple rice, black and round sesame seeds and salt.

It is really interesting to see how they prepare it. They place the cooked rice into a stone “bowl” situated in the ground and add black round sesame seeds (already mashed) and salt. Then there is a “wooden machine” that will smash and mix it making a dough. And this is it.

To sell it, they separate the dough into small portions of the same size and wrap it in banana leaf so it doesn’t dry.

The most popular and tasty ways of having it are fried or barbequed, although you can also eat it raw. It is usually eaten in winter and served with brown sugar or jaggery on the side. It only costs between 100-200 kyats ($0.1 – 0.2).

Next time you are in Shan State, don’t forget to try these delicious dishes and enjoy them as I did. And if you love food and Myanmar as much as I do, check out my book Delicious Myanmar to discover this amazing country through its People and Food.